Machine for slicingr



UNITED STATES EPHRAIM L. PRATT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FOR SLICING APPLES.

Specification of Letters Patent No.

To all whom t 'may concern Be it known that I, EPHRAIM L. PRATT, of the city and county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Machine for Slicing Apples; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification.

Figure l is a front elevation of the machine in the actl of slicing an apple. Fig. 2, is a top view of ditto with the apple removed therefrom. Fig. 3, is an end elevation of ditto.

Similar let-ters in the figures refer to corresponding parts.

The nature of this invention consists in cutting apples into slices of uniform thickness by causing revolving knives to alternately pass through the same on lines parallel with the core of the apple as the portion to be cut off is brought forward at intervals in its revolution, in such a manner as to enable the whole apple to be cut into straight slices clear from the core part, by the simple turning of a crank and the operation of such parts as cause the knives to pass the apple in straight lines during their revolutions.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and used my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

The frame A may be made of cast meta-l or other suitable material, and is provided with projections B, and a` clamp screw B, for securing the same to a table or other support. On top of the frame is secured a horizontal shaft C, turning in suitable bearings in the frame and having a crank D, at its outer end and a cog wheel E, at its inner end which cog wheel E meshes in gear with a corresponding cog wheel E, turning on a shaft secured to the upright portion of the frame immediately below the shaft C. This last mentioned cog wheel F, meshes in gear with another cog wheel G, below turning on a shaft fixed to the frame and having a rim I-I, cast or secured on its face, which rim has two spiral lips I, projecting from its face, next the periphery, and arranged at equal distances apart and which mesh in gear with and act upon the cogs of a horizontal wheel K, secured to the lower end of a vertical shaft supported by and turning in a portion of the frame, and having forks or prongs M,

16,067, dated November 11, 185e.

formed on or secured to its upper end, on which the core part of the apple to be sliced is pressed and secured. The spiral lips or cams I, act upon the. cogs of the wheel K, alternately, after the manner of ordinary worm gearing and when they, in their revolutions have turned the cog wheel K, the required distance for a slice to be taken off the apple, the circular portion of the rim I-I, between the spiral lips or cams I, holds the same firmly during the said cutting procw ess, until the other lip or cam, reaches the next cog in succession.

On the front part of the frame A, is secured a curved bar N, closely resembling in form a skeleton heart, except in the particulars that a portion of its tapered part near the point is slightly curved inward from the ordinary full bulge as at N, and

the blunt end is made straight, to correspond with the upright and straight edge of a bar O, secured to the same about two and a half inches to the right hand, by curved bars l 2. The upper and lower ends of this vertical bar O, are curved toward the heart formed bar N, to enable the knife guides V, hereafter mentioned, to readily assume their proper positions over and under the same, in their revolutions.

Immediately in front of the heart formed barN, .is arranged, on edge, an oblong plate P, having the ends of parallel rods or bars Q jointed onA its outer part, which rods, or bars are jointed at their opposite ends to the lower ends of other rods or bars Q. Secured at their opposite end to a plate S, iixed permanently to the horizontal shaft- C, immediately outside the plate P. This plate S, is also of an oblong form, and is arranged parallel to the plate P, to which it is secured, as just mentioned, by the rods or bars R, and parallel connecting rods or bars Q, so as to enable the two plates to be revolved together with the horizontal crank shaft, and the plate P, to have a reciprocating movement on the jointed rods Q, during its revolution, through the action of the outer edge of the heart shaped bar N, on studs or pins T, projecting from the inner face of the plate P, and the action of the straight edge of the bar O, upon the knife guides U-the peculiar form and proportion of the said heart shaped bar N, being such, and the several curved and straight edges of the same being in such relation to each other and to the horizontal shaft C, as to cause the two studs or pins T, to bear at all times against its edges and t-husproperly guide the plate P, and prevent it from wabbling. A. slot (represented by dotted lines in Fig. l) is formed in the plate P, through which the horizontal shaft C, passes for enabling the said plate to have the reciprocating movement described. At the ends of the plateP, are arranged guides U, secured to pins or studs U, turning in openings in the ends of the plate P, which pins or studs have knives V, secured to near their centers. These knives project inward from the ends of the plate` P, at right angles to its inner face, or they may be slightly curved as desired, and are of su'llicient length to slice the largest sized apple, being bent at their inner end, in a curved line, corresponding with the are of a circle scribed from the center of the shaft s so as toseparate the inner part of theslice from the core of the apple, immediately outside the said core. The guides U, move over the right hand edge of the bar O, and this bar being arranged parallel with the center of the apple, causes the knives V, to pass through thesame on corresponding straight lines.

The operation is as follows: The oo re of the apple being pressed. upon the upright forks or prongs M, as represented in Fig. l, the operator, sitting in front of themachine turns the crank D, to the right. The studs or pins T, on the inner face of t-he plate P, moving over the curved edges of the heart shaped bar N, cause the said plate P, to be moved on its jointed bars Q, so as to alternately bring the knife guides U, on its ends, at every revolution in such relation to the curved top part of the upright bar O, as to cause them to go over the top of the same, the slightly curved inward portions of the heart shaped bar N, enabling t-hem to properly assume their parallel positions in relation to, and against the right hand edge of said upright bar. The guide bars U, are then slid downward, in a straight line being held in contact with this edge, until they reach the same horizontal plane as the center of the horizontal shaft C, by the port-ion of the lower curved edge of the heart shaped bar, between the slight-ly curved inward portion N and the extreme left, or point of the same--the plate P, moving on its bars Q to admit of this movement. After the guide bars U, pass the horizontal plan-e mentioned, they continue their descent with the knives in the same straight course, the action of th-e edge of the upright bar O, upon them moving the plate P, on its rods-Q., to the right, until the knife guides pass under the curved end of the bar O, when the action of the curved edges of the heart shaped bar N upon the studs or pins T, bring the next guide bar U, in its revolution, to the proper position to pass over the upper curved end .of the said upright bar O. During the descent of each knife, a slice is cut from the apple, and between the time of one knife leaving the lower end of the upright bar O, and the other knife reaching the top of the same, the apple is revolved suiiioiently by the spiral lips or cams I, acting on the cogs of the wheel K, to bring another portion of the. same around, to be sliced by the descending knife, while it is held firmly by the circular portion of the rim H between the cogs of said wheel K.

What- I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- Attaching the knives to a reciprocating piece P by means of pins or axis on which they can so rotateein combination with the straight rod or guide O for the purpose of causing the knives to descend through the apple-in lines parallel to its aXis as herein substantially set forth.

, E. L. PRATT.

Witnesses:

XVM. M. COLLINS,

EDWARD COKE. 

